Senioritis and its effect on students

Senioritis and its effect on students

by Joshua Dion

As the school year approaches an end, many seniors across Nashua School Districts are affected by the phenomenon known as senioritis.

The Oxford Dictionary defines senioritis as “a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.”

Many seniors are struggling with motivation in showing up to class and doing their work.

Luna Francisco, Nashua North senior, whose plan is to go into a college in New York, states that as the year as progressed, she now feels as though there is “No point in going to school,” because she has most of her credits and “skips the class” she doesn't need because she’s already been accepted into colleges.

Teachers are seeing this lack in motivation and work ethic everyday in their classrooms with their students. Mrs. Leone, North math teacher in the field for 29 years, states that a lot of her students who used to be good at doing all of their work and submitting things on time have been “slacking off and not being as consistent with their work as they used to.”

Simultaneously though, a lot of students are still going to college in the fall and although they may be “trying to do as little as possible while still maintaining their grades,” as Mrs.Leone states, many are trying to find ways to stay motivated when senioritis is hitting the hardest.

Liv Reedy, a senior at Nashua High School South, who is committed to UNH for this fall, shares that her biggest way to stay focused on school untill graduation is by keeping her grades up and focusing “on what time I have left with my friends before graduating.”

Fortunately, senioritis is not a long lasting effect. By college this phenomena goes away and students are able to focus back on school work and their future careers.

Owen White, a 2023 North graduate and a current freshman at Clarkson University, shares that towards the end of his senior year at school, he had a huge drop in motivation where he “didn't want to be there anymore,” and not “ pay attention” in classes.

In college though, after a slip up in his academics in his first semester, he is now “attentive in every class,” and always gets his homework done.

He also says it's “easier to get everything done in college because you have less classes per day and have more time for breaks to get work done or even hang out with friends,” which helps with his motivation in college to do well and pass.